In the past year, I have experimented with dozens of egg recipes, egg casseroles, egg crescents, egg omelets, you get the picture. Eggs are not only a great source of protein, but a budget conscious cook’s dream with endless versatility. This Cheesy Egg Puff recipe stands out as one of my favorites because most egg puff recipes have a light airy texture, while this is more dense. It’s delicious like that, plus my family devours them.
My egg and cheese puff pictures above show the egg puffs made from the basic core recipe which contains just bacon and cheese, but have fun with the recipe. Experiment to your liking and make it your own. I enjoy recipes where the possibilities can be changed each time you make it.
If making this for a special occasion, this recipe can be started the evening before, and then finished in the morning. It’s also a great freezer meal, so make extras and freezer them in smaller portions for a quick and easy meal option (or breakfast on the run like in our home).
Do you ever eat breakfast for dinner like our family? If you do, add in some diced ham and broccoli to cover your dinner’s veggie portion. See? I told you it was versatile, but as with preparing any recipe for the first time, make this basic egg puff recipe first, and then determine how you want to change it up.
Since I always recommend cooking bacon in the oven, as well as cooking it in bulk, hopefully you already have some bacon crumbles on hand which will easily allow you to whip the ingredients together in five minutes.
Trust me, you will want to print or pin this to save for future reference. Better yet, why don’t you just make it tomorrow? 🙂
It’s a perfect recipe that meets my Cooking with Kids, Ten Minute Dinner, Freezer Cooking and Pantry Challenge requirements, all at one time.
Recipe: Egg Puff
Summary: This incredibly easy, yet deliciously dense egg puff recipe creates a perfect brunch delight in minutes.
Ingredients
- 10 eggs beaten
- 1 (16 oz) container cottage cheese
- 1 pound of bacon
- 16 ounces shredded Monterrey jack cheese, (or your preference)
- 1 (7oz ) can diced green chile peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt (I’ve used garlic salt as well)
- 1 tsp onion or garlic powder
- dash of pepper
- finely chopped peppers, onions, diced ham, crumbled sausage (optional additions)
Instructions
- Cook the bacon, drain grease, crumble and set aside.
- In large bowl, beat eggs well, then add the cottage cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese, Chile peppers, bacon (and any optional ingredients).
- (If making the night before, cover bowl and refrigerate this mixture overnight.)
- The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove cheese mixture from refrigerator, stir in the flour, melted butter, baking powder and salt.
- Gently spoon the batter into 24 lightly greased muffin cups or 9×13 baking dish.
- I highly recommend baking these in the muffin tins, but either works fine.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes for muffins, 30 – 40 for 9×13 or until the egg puffs are slightly golden on top.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
Enjoy!!
We were given 4 dozen eggs from a church member today and I have been wondering what to do with them all – this takes care of some of them!
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Jen Reply:
January 29th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Oh yes, Amanda – this will be perfect!
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What are the “rules” for freezing them? Do they really heat back up that well?
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karen Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:22 pm
I was wondering about that too – can you freeze them and how do you reheat? Thanks for the great recipe – I love your blog!
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I’m going to try this recipe this week!
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You lost me at “cottage cheese,” but may I assume that the cottage cheese texture is completely lost in the muffin?
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Jen Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Yes, you would be surprised. You can not even taste it, but if you really don’t like it due to the texture thing, then buy the small curd and use the blender and blend it in with the eggs. You won’t be able to tell at all.
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Made these tonight and they were delicious! Great way to get protein into my 5 yr old. The only problem I had was getting them out of the mini muffin pan that I had sprayed with Pam. I can’t understand why they would stick. Anyone else had this to happen?
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Jen Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
Hmm – that is odd. The only time I have had problems if it’s an older pan and I didn’t get it greased all the way. I do use non stick pans though, even though I want to get away from them, they still work so well. Sorry you had trouble getting them out.
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Dianna Reply:
May 30th, 2014 at 12:07 am
Mine stuck to my regular muffin pan. Next time I might use Baker’s Joy spray intstead of regular Pam. I think it would work better, especially on the bottoms, which is where mine stuck the worst.
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I just made these for my family for breakfast this morning….delicious! Even our picky toddler was gobbling them up. In your post you mentioned that they could be frozen, but I was wondering how you reheat them when you’re ready to eat them? Thanks for the great recipe…I can’t wait to try out some variations for next time!
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Hi,
I made these this morning, and they were very yummy. I did make some changes to your original recipe to make my family happy. You can read about it on my blog. Thanks for the recipe.
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these look so yummy!! I’ve got to try them!!
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Could you just use Bisquick or Jiffy Baking mix?
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Jen Reply:
September 24th, 2013 at 10:20 am
@Melissea, Since it’s such a small amount of flour needed, I am sure you could swap flour for those without a problem. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
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Hi Jen! Just made these! I skimmed through the comments and wondered if you ever freeze these? If so, any tips?
Thanks!
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These are so good! Thank you for posting.
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Jen Reply:
November 25th, 2013 at 12:26 am
So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
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Could you substitute ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese? And I may have missed it but when freezing them do you make them, then freeze? And in what type of container do you freeze them ? Thanks! I’ll be making these this week!
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Jen Reply:
December 7th, 2013 at 7:13 pm
Yes, Ricotta would be a great substitution.
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Jen–Can these be made slightly ahead of time and served room temp. I’d like to make them for a brunch where everyone is bringing an item. I imagine most people will bring something sweet and these sound perfect to offset so much sugar! Thanks.
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Jen Reply:
December 7th, 2013 at 7:13 pm
Yes, definitely. That’s a great idea because you’ll add some delicious protein into the bunch.
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I haven’t seen where you answered the questions about freezing. I would really like to make some and freeze them as well, and any advice on prepping or reheating would be appreciated. Thank you!
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Jen Reply:
December 31st, 2013 at 5:38 pm
Amanda – I’ve frozen them, but they go so quickly that I don’t have experience with longer term storage. I need to save a few and give them a try. I wrap them very tightly in freezer wrap and then put in freezer bag. I take out the night before and put in the fridge to thaw before reheating. I will make a bunch and try and keep them frozen for a few weeks so I can speak to it better.
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Can I substitute something else for the cottage cheese? I don’t like cottage cheese.
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Jen Reply:
March 28th, 2014 at 11:03 pm
Honestly, you will not even taste it at all. I have lots of friends who told me they don’t like cc, but they never even knew it was in these. You could try sour cream??
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I just wanted to clarify that when you say 16 ounces of Monterrey Jack cheese that you do actually mean 1 pound of cheese and not 2 cups of shredded cheese.
How did the long term freezing work out?
Thanks.
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Wanted to make sure it makes 24 muffins since it says it makes 12 servings. Making this for work tomorrow so wanted to make sure there is enough. Thanks.
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Jen Reply:
April 16th, 2014 at 1:10 pm
I would double the recipe if you need 24.
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Looks delicious! Thanks!
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These are great! I made them, then wrapped in plastic wrap, put in a freezer bag and froze. Took out what I needed for breakfast for the week (one bag) defrosted in the fridge and took to work. Heated in the microwave for a minute and they were as good as the first day I made them. Shared with some cooking friends and they were impressed (I am not a good cook). These are a great make ahead breakfast! Thank you, Cat ?
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Jen Reply:
April 21st, 2016 at 1:02 pm
So thrilled to hear this, Cat!!
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